Merlinus Ambrosius Awakes
by Bornofhim
Summary: I wrote this as an addition to C.S. Lewis's That Hideous Strength. It relates the way that Merlin awakes and leaves the chamber. Also it tells what happens between him and the bum. The line breaks are to keep C.S. Lewis's style.


Silence reigned in the darkest of chambers. No sound dared permeate the tomb. Even the water dropped without making its usual noise. It was as if death had come without ever truly coming, and the whole chamber waited in quiet anticipation for whatever might occur.  
For centuries this small part of the universe had existed thus, a small constant in an ever-changing world. In this chamber, one man's body was at rest. This was the body of Merlin. Here it had rested since the sealing of the chamber. Here he waited for the day of his awakening. He waited in the deepest of dreamless sleep. Here he was to wait until he would be called from this sleep and brought into place to fulfill his final purpose. This dreary and foggy evening was the time he had waited for.

* * *

Next to a small tent and a nice quiet cozy fire sat a plain vagabond. His unkempt beard, graying hair, and toe-less boots gave him away instantly. Any English man who might have come across him would instantly know his occupation or lack there of. He sat close to his fire poking and prodding it while his kettle sat ready waiting for the fire to reach its full potential. Then, suddenly from a distance, the bum heard what sounded like a small explosion. He rose, turned, and looked just as a completely nude man stepped out of a hole that had never been there before. This may seem like an important event something the bum would remember and relate for years to come, but the bum himself was never quite sure what actually happened. The bum had in fact not moved or, in the normal sense of the word, thought since the tall naked man had first noticed him.

* * *

As Merlinus arose from the stone tablet that had been his resting place for over five centuries, he noticed many unusual things. First he realized that he was nude. The clothes he had worn when he had begun his sleep had disintegrated over the length of time. Also he noticed a change in the spirit realm. He felt at once a lack of many common spirits. At first, he feared the worst, but as he awoke, he observed that the spirits were still there. They remained alive but had lost their former glory either through hiding or suppression or both. As he was reassured of their existence, he began to ascend the pathway towards the chambers only exit. Knowing the way to be blocked Merlin invoked the necessary magic to create an opening. In an explosion of dirt and rock the path became clear and Merlin stepped out finally onto the earth's true surface.

* * *

It was this destruction the bum had deserved while cooking his supper. Also it was Merlin's steady gaze that had frozen the bum to the spot where he stood. While Merlin's gaze leveled upon this bum he also felt the encroaching of a few groups of people. The closest group contained two males and a female. He felt a strong feeling of necessity in this group. They had the feel of people desperately searching for something or someone they did not actually desire to find.

* * *

Merlin had no particular desire to meet with any of these groups and felt called to travel some distance. This drive led him to claim the bum's clothing and horse. After he had dressed and made the horse ready he released the bum from his power and began his ride. Just as he was leaving, the bum found consciousness and saw enough of Merlin to be quite frightened and headed off in the opposite direction that Merlin had traveled. This path eventually led him to one of the searching groups who took him to be the one they were searching for. They sedated him and let the authorities at Belbury know of their success. The group of two men and the woman passed Merlin close to the bum's camp but owing to his clothing mistook him for the bum. After exploring the campsite and some of the surrounding area they decided there was no hope and headed back to Logres empty handed. 


End file.
